In 2023, there are myriad ways to make money online, and from selling on Amazon to posting content on TikTok, a growing number of millennials and Gen Z-ers are creating sizable income streams using little more than their smartphones.
If you happen to be musically gifted, then you’re likely no stranger to the concept of Soundcloud – an audio-based social networking platform that allows users to upload, promote, stream, and share self-created music and podcasts. Back in 2018, it announced the opening of its direct monetisation programme, which was designed to enable artists to make money through uploading tracks to their accounts and gaining SoundCloud plays. In the years since then, it has transformed the music world.
The SoundCloud Premier programme was initially an invite-only scheme that was only available to beta testers. Still, after being rolled off across the board, it has since merged with the Creator programme, which has allowed numerous talented content creators to make a fortune through the platform whilst reaching new audiences and increasing their plays and profiles on a global scale.
Artists like Travis Scott, Post Malone, and Chance the Rapper have all utilised SoundCloud as a means of building their careers, and have shown other aspiring users just what’s possible – but in order to gain access to the monetisation, they had to show some promise in the first place.
To qualify for premier, creators must be independent and have had at least 5,000 plays for SoundCloud users over the month preceding the application. You also have to be living in a country where SoundCloud monetisation is active, which currently includes the UK, Ireland, the US, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
So, does signing up to Premier mean selling your soul to SoundCloud and handing over rights to your songs? Fortunately not, as independent creators retain all rights for their content and are not bound by any kind of exclusivity agreement. With this in mind, it’s easy to see why many artists feel there’s nothing to lose by giving it a go – in fact, on the contrary, because there’s all to gain in terms of both audience and finances.
It’s worth bearing in mind, however, that there are a couple of caveats, although the first perhaps goes without saying. SoundCloud does retain a proportion of the net revenue generated by a user’s content – see it as a commission, if you will.
Ultimately, this leaves creators with a 55 per cent net revenue share, which is competitive enough to keep the programme in favour with most. SoundCloud also foots the bill for publishing royalties to rights holders – so all in, it’s a better deal than you’d get on, say, Spotify.
To boost creators’ revenue streams, the platform also allows artists to receive payment each time listeners see or hear an ad, which typically appear on screen and are played between tracks, or are embedded already at the beginning of an audio track.
And increasingly, we’ve been seeing the emergence of brand partnerships, with Premier artists able to take advantage of sponsorship packages that can be lucrative enough to bring them in tens of thousands of pounds. While some brands may deliberately seek out creators who align with their values on SoundCloud, the platform also makes recommendations to registered brands based on artists they think would be a good match. So far from there being only one way to make money on SoundCloud, there are many, and the scope is only continuing to grow.
Despite the fact that many creative users have managed to carve out a lucrative career for themselves via SoundCloud alone, it’s worth bearing in mind that it’s not always a reliable or consistent stream of income – as while you might rake it in during one month, SoundCloud plays can vary from month to month. Users who keep their offerings updated with new and exciting content are, of course, those most likely to earn more consistently, but unlike Apple Music and Spotify, which pay flat rates per each individual stream, SoundCloud’s pay outs have been known to fluctuate.
If you’re a musical creator who has been looking to get their name out there and start making money from your passion before making it big offline, then Soundcloud provides a handy springboard from which to launch your career, but the biggest money makers are, perhaps unsurprisingly, those who have already built themselves a reputation. Nevertheless, the platform’s role in transforming the music world and giving new, up-and-coming creators a voice is difficult to ignore, and in 2023, it’s the place to be if you’re looking to make it big and turn your passion into many, many pounds.
